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>> in the latest escalation of violence in the middle east, palestinians have fired at least one rocket towards televisa, for the first time in 20 years israel's biggest city has come under attack. >> in response, israel vowed to increase military operations aimed at militants in gaza. three israelis were killed by a palestinian rocket earlier today. >> these developments, in the second day of an israeli assault on militant targets in gaza. >> the number of dead and wounded continues to rise in gaza. the israeli military has carried out more than 160 airstrikes since launching a defensive with the targeted killing of hamas military chief. palestinians who turned out for the funeral of him as a martyr. israel says he masterminded attacks on israelis, including the 2006 kidnapping of a soldier.

in israel, a town came under fire from across the border on thursday. three people were killed. israel says deaths like these underscore the need for a tough response. >> in recent days and weeks, hamas and other terror organizations in gaza have made normal life impossible for normal israelis. no government would tolerate a situation where nearly 1/5 minutes people live under a constant barrage of rockets and missile fire, and israel will not tolerate the situation. >> the palestinian president has cut short a visit to europe, and palestinian officials say they are seeking to diffuse tensions. >> we have a very tense situation in gaza, and we have a situation deteriorated every

hour. >> the egyptian president warned of a spill over. >> israel has to realize that we cannot accept this aggression. it has a negative effect on stability in the region. >> israel has code-named its operation "pillar of defense," but many fear the result will be an escalation of the israeli/palestinian conflict. >> dw's tanya kramer has been in gaza the last several days, and she is back in jerusalem. it is looking more and more like war. >> what we can say right now is that the situation is surely not be escalating. we have been getting reports in the past couple of minutes of dozens of air strikes. what we see now as a lot of action. a lot of drumbeating on both sides.

the fact that the israeli prime minister has given the green light, we have been hearing israeli officials in the past say that the ground operation could be possible. the rocket from gaza in nearby tullibee, clearly another red line for israel that has been crossed, and it could trigger more action -- the rocket from gaza in nearby town levied -- tel aviv. guzzle was like a ghost town of the past few days while i was there. people are just staying at home. there's not much you can do at these times, just wait, and probably go for another very long night of air strikes and rocket launches and then the sound of ambulances. i think it is a real tragedy for the civilian population on both sides, what is going on down south. in gaza particularly, the

experience of war after relative quiet, and it is extremely difficult when you do not have a shelter to run to. >> thank you for that. for more on this story, we're joined by our middle east analyst. we've got a civil war on israel's doorstep. testy relations with egypt, not to mention the palestinians. it is really not good timing. >> not really. there's no immediate reason behind this attack. the man killed was a very closely cooperating with the israeli side. whenever the israelis had the impression to many rockets were being fired from the gaza strip, it was him who the israelis contacted in order to crush this rocket fire in from the gaza stip. at the same time, he was negotiating with israelis on

stopping any violent activity between the two sides, and yet, the israelis decided to kill him. why is it at this stage? we had elections in the united states last week, and there will be elections in israel next month, so this action gives a clear opportunity for mr. benjamin netanyahu to show that he is a strong man, that he is able to handle this challenge as he sees it from his position, by the palestinians. >> israel is just saying it is defending itself against palestinian rocket attacks. what is the trigger for all of this violence? >> we have been watching these events developing in the region for years now, rockets being fired in israel, israelis firing back, so who is the main culprit? it is very difficult to answer. both israel and the palestinians do need a political solution of

their problems, and there's none in sight. even the most moderate wing within the palestinian movement represented by the palestinian president -- he is going to get an enhanced status at the united nations next month, at least he is trying to go for that, but the israelis say they will not accept it. should he go for it, they will boycott. weather they use violence of diplomatic means, they are always in a very difficult situation. things are not moving ahead, and it is a very volatile situation. you mentioned the war on syria. egypt is going in a very difficult direction. it is a quagmire, and you have to be careful the whole region does not explode. >> thank you so much for joining us here in studio. >> france's new prime minister has made his first official visit to germany, holding talks with german chancellor. at the top of the agenda was

stagnant economic growth in france and europe generally. >> he told reporters that france remain committed to keeping greece in the eurozone and said it was in the interests of all eurozone countries to show solidarity with debt-stricken member states. for more on this now, we're joined from our parliamentary studiosy our political correspondent. there's been an awful lot of talk about deteriorating franco- german relations recently. what can you say after this visit? >> for the last six months, there has been quite a bit of tension mainly because angela merkel came out during the last presidential elections in france, very openly for nicholas sarkozy, which got her off on to a very bad start with the current french president, but the experience of governing in the last six months in france

has toned down the criticism from hollande and his prime minister. they realize they cannot fulfil, have not been able to yet, many of the pledges they made during the election. the atmosphere is, on the surface at least, a little bit better. >> considering all the problems in the eurozone right now, can germany and france really hold europe together? >> the relations between the two countries are really not at their best, and i am share of the next e. summit where they will be discussing the budget over the next few years, there are very different priorities -- at the next eu summit. i think there will be a lot of tension. in the past, at least, leaders of both countries have realized france and germany have to stand together if they want to advance the european project, and i think that current leaders in both countries are no exception. i think it is very difficult to imagine that they will not reach a compromise for the sake of

your's future. >> thank you very much. -- for the sake of europe's future. >> he has been in office only six months, but france's socialist president has suffered a dramatic fall in popularity. >> in contrast to the hope of popularity that surrounded him during the election when he replace nicholas sarkozy. many people doubt weather he has what it takes to turn the country around. >> francois hollande came to office promising a different way out of the crisis, advocating less hardship and more measures to promote growth instead, but now that he is in office, things seem to have gone rather quiet. >> people are disappointed. he has failed to come up with any great reforms. he has turned everyone against himself. his first six months in office have been really week. >> the challenges facing hollande are huge. after nearly two years of stagnant growth, france is facing record public debt.

unemployment is over 10% and rising. concern for the future is growing, and many french people are looking for stronger leadership. >> he has not tackled france was the fundamental problems, such as the desperate need for tax reform. >> hollande has introduced a tax on high-income earners, but only for a limited time. his reforms had been mainly incremental. many are frustrated by what they see as a plodding approach. >> when he was party leader, he just had to keep everybody happy, but that is not going to help him find answers to these urgent questions. >> hollande is not in the habit of answering questions. in his six months since taking office, he has rarely appeared in front of cameras. this week, he hit back at his critics. >> politics is not just about

reforms, and it is not just the sum of different measures, as important as these may be. politics is also not just taking off election campaign promises. >> hollande vowed to do better than his predecessor, but so far, he is only beating nicklaus sarkozy on one front -- the speed at which his popularity is declining -- he is only beating nicolas sarkozy. >> it only takes one moment, but it could last a lifetime. we're talking about the information you're right on facebook. >> it is not just law enforcement -- and is not just advertising firms. law-enforcement authorities have also use it. >> it remains highly controversial. some say investigations should only be made through public agencies, but facebook is a privately run company.

>> wanted posters, interrogations', and eventually an arrest -- those are some of the traditional ways police catch criminals, but in the state of lower saxony, police have been testing another option. the online community is full of information and an easy way to reach young people under 30. german estate justice ministers have cautiously agree to the idea of using internet platform as an adjunct to more traditional ways of solving crimes. >> particular concern is that we keep things in perspective. it must be restricted to cases where such action is appropriate. >> facebook is controversial because it is hard to delete data published there. it is especially a problem when a suspicion proved unfounded. also, the information stored on servers in the u.s., which

opposes legal problems. can it then be used as evidence in german courts? public opinion is divided. >> our privacy keeps shrinking. i do not like it. >> if they are using it as a tool to solve crimes, sure, why not? >> the lower saxony police have found an effective way to use this book is to post links on it to their german-based site, which contains pictures and detailed descriptions. it is a legal work around that could become a national blueprint for digital crime solving. >> christie's has recorded the most successful sale of contemporary art ever, taking in more than $400 million. >> many buyers are increasingly seeing art as a safe investment now. a large-scale sculptures sold for $33.7 million, the highest -- second-highest price ever achieved at an auction by a living artist.

coming up after the break, we will be taking a look at china's new leadership. do not go away. >> stick around.

>> welcome back. he's just become one of the most powerful men in the world. >> today in beijing, he was named the general secretary of china's communist party. >> what they going to do with their power? we will be asking our correspondent in beijing in just a moment, but first, let's have a look at the new lineup. >> the leader of the new bureau standing committee had some

stage. this is the world's first glimpse of the man who will lead china for least the next five years. she says the members have great responsibilities, but their main mission is to be united at a difficult time. >> our party faces many severe challenges, and there are also many pressing problems within the party that need to be resolved, particularly corruption, being divorced from the people, and going through formalities and bureaucracies caused by some officials. >> despite his call for action, most of the leaders are politically conservative. reformers were not included in the standing committee, meaning china is likely to stay on the same course. >> burma says it is releasing 452 prisoners as a goodwill

gesture ahead of a visit by u.s. president barack obama. >> opposition have criticized the embassy, saying it applies mainly to common criminals and does not appear to include political prisoners. at least 330 people lost about to be in jail for political reasons. after almost five decades of repressive army rule, the burmese government has said freedom for political prisoners would be a centerpiece of its reforms. it is official -- the eurozone is back in recession. >> new figures show the eurozon+ economy shrank by 0.1%, the second consecutive drop in output. >> there was some positive news, though -- germany's economy weakened less than many had feared. like france, it just managed to eke out some growth. >> elsewhere in the picture, it was anything but rosy. >> people in southern europe have struggled with years of the zero economic growth -- spain,

italy, portugal, and greece have seen rising unemployment and chronic budget shortfalls, but now, economic growth is also slowing in northern europe's industrial economies. in europe's biggest economy, germany, third quarter gdp growth came in at just 0.2%. it was the same figure in france, though analysts had been expecting even weaker numbers. in the netherlands, the economy contracted in the third quarter. one reason is more and more consumers are cutting back on their spending, fearing tough times ahead. another reason is that businesses are also scaling back. manufacturers also anticipate weaker demand from struggling eurozone partners. >> news of the recession did not pull down the market drastically. our correspondence sent us this report from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> of course it is bad news that the economy and the eurozone slipped into recession, but still, traders managed to find a

few positive aspects in the reports. in italy, the contraction was much smaller than what economists had anticipated. france against the odds managed to produceive gross domestic product. this means, for germany, the possibility remains intact that our economy during the current quarter remains in positive territory as well. the biggest-loser shares this thursday were shares of lufthansa. the negotiated pay increase for the cabin crew threatens the cost-cutting targets of the airline, something which many investors took very negatively. >> a quick look at som market numbers now -- the dax ended the day just over 0.75% down. across the atlantic, the dow jones is currently going down about pointing to 5%. the euro is trading for $1.2773.

british oil company bp says it has agreed to pay $4.5 billion in penalties for its role in the deepwater horizon oil spill in the gulf of mexico. >> in 2010, an explosion on an oil rig working for bp killed 11 workers and started and under water leak that took months to plug. under a settlement reached with the u.s. justice department, the company says it will also plead guilty to felony misconduct. penalties include 1 billion euros criminal fines, the largest in u.s. history. germany's relatively strong weathering of the eurozone crisis seems to be making the country more and more attractive for job seekers from around the continent. >> germany's statistics office says more than 300,000 foreigners from eu countries took up residence in germany in the first half of 2012. a year-on-year increase of more than 60% was registered in

arrivals from struggling eurozone countries including spain, portugal, and greece. >> germany's second-biggest airline says its profits rose in the last quarter, but analysts are saying it is not enough to stave off a wave of job cuts. >> earnings for july to september grooved by 4.5% to just over 100 million euros before tax. that will reduce air berlin's overall losses for the year. the company is undergoing psignificant restructuring and says it is on track to return profits in 2013, but high fuel costs and a poor economic environment continued to weigh on profits. air berlin is not alone in going through some turbulence. this is not a great time for europe's airlines. >> many are struggling to stay in business. here's a look at the litany of problems they face. >> scandinavian airline sas is

fighting for survival. the carrier has not turned a profit in five years. it is not alone. just last week, spain's flagship carrier said it would cut nearly a quarter of its work force in an effort to remain competitive. sas alone plans to cut more than 1/3 of its 15,000 employees. air france is looking to reduce staff to 45,000 workers. and germany's lufthansa is also in the midst of a painft- cutting program. earlier this week, the airline struck a deal with unions to raise cabin crew pay in exchange for no strikes over the christmas holidays. >> coming up, we've got some sports news for you. >> first, some other stories

making news around the world. three demonstrators have vented their anger at a german consul. he was heading for a meeting with local officials when a crowd of protesters began shouting at him and pushing him. they were upset by another german official who said on wednesday that greece needed three times as many employees as germany to do the same work. >> germans have booked a record high 40 million vacations in the last 12 months. that is according to numbers by the german travel association which reported a 4.5% increase in sales. topping the destination list is spain, followed by italy and turkey, but holidays within germany are also popular. >> a power outage paralyzed large parts of the city of munich on thursday. thousands of commuters got stuck

on their way to work as traffic lights failed and trains antwrens ground to a halt. officials say the outage was caused by a small fire. electricity was back on in under two hours. in soccer action, two of the best football in nations locked horns wednesday night for a friendly in amsterdam. germany took on neighbors the netherlands. >> it is usually a good ticket, but fans from both sides were left deflated. >> it was far from the action packed in counter that many had hoped for, but after a tumultuous few months, germany were relieved just to keep a clean sheet. >> obviously, it is better to go into the 2.5-month winter break

with a good match rather than a defeat and a poor performance. >> germany were missing eight players. a midfielder had to step in as striker. he could have kept his good performance with a goal if not for a rescue twice. germany did not fare any better. missing the chance to put them in the lead just before halftime. >> it was a friendly, so it is not about points. it is not about qualifying or winning of the european championships, so you are more focused on not injuring yourself. >> both sides remain cautious in the second half. only toward the end to the netherlands turn up the pressure. >> after all the criticism that

the team has had recently, it was especially important that we keep our mental strength and finish the year on a reasonable note. >> the last action in front of the goal came from marco voice and was characteristic of the entire game. germany and in the year on a mediocre note and now have a break until february. >> it seems the euro crisis is not stopping germans from going on holiday. >> country store operators and travel agents say germans have booked a record number of holidays in the last 12 months. 40 million, to be precise. the place germans like to go most is spain. pam and me too. do not go away. >> see you soon.